Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow was the success that no one saw coming last season.

On its face, the twist on the classic Sleepy Hollow tale that recast Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) as a Revolutionary War solider propelled into the modern day, seemed like a bizarre attempt to jump on the “creature entertainment” bandwagon. In practice, the show’s inventiveness and enthusiasm, the writers’ giddy shredding of historical events to fashion the alternate timeline the show’s explored so memorably, and the strong chemistry between Mison and co-star Nicole Beharie as Lt. Abby Mills, captured a loyal, surprisingly large audience.

Halfway through its second season, Sleepy Hollow is experiencing some growing pains. Ratings are down from last year and season two is moving much more slowly than the rocket-propelled narrative pace of the show’s freshman run. But Sleepy Hollow still has a lot of strengths that make it worth keeping up with.

In some ways, Sleepy’s issues this season aren’t a complete shock. FOX increased the episode order from season one’s tight 13 to 18 for season two. That’s necessitated some world building and new characters. It’s also altered the pacing of the plot, so that there are more of what seem like “monster of the week” episodes, though the connective tissue between installments isn’t always immediately apparent.

The chief antagonist has been Henry Parish (John Noble), revealed in the season one finale to be both the Horseman of War and the bitter son of Crane and his sorcerous wife, Katrina (Katia Winter). Henry has unleashed one hell beast after another on Abbie, Ichabod and friends. On a weekly basis, those threads have sometimes felt disconnected from the main narrative. It’s usually been in a subsequent episode where viewers learn how one threat has fed into the next, all in service to Henry’s plan to raise the demon Moloch.

Freeing Katrina from limbo, where she spent all of last season, was a sensible narrative move. Katrina is still a difficult character to embrace, but in the new season, Sleepy Hollow has revealed some secrets that have tarnished the almost impossible idealism her husband harbored for her in season one, making her potentially more interesting. Katrina’s “double agent” gambit with Henry’s camp gives the character an active purpose that she needed badly, while also casting some genuine doubt on where her true allegiance lies. Viewers are left to wonder if Katrina’s insistence that her son is redeemable is misplaced hope, willful ignorance or something more sinister. If nothing else, it’s been a genuine source of conflict among Katrina, Ichabod and Abbie.

In many ways, season two has been about finding ways to keep the heroes of Sleepy Hollow apart. Captain Irving (Orlando Jones) has lingered in a mental hospital for a murder he didn’t commit. Aside from having accidentally allowed Henry to steal his soul, Irving’s been woefully underused and his family has been entirely absent. Likewise, the promotion of Lyndie Greenwood to “series regular” status as Abbie’s volatile sister Jenny hasn’t really seemed to expand Greenwood’s role and she’s M.I.A. a lot of the time. Which is too bad, because her flinty demeanor adds a nice bit of spice to the character mix. Sleepy Hollow has had some mixed results in incorporating new recurring characters. We’ve seen a lot of Matt Barr as Hawley, a kind of mercenary dealer in mystic artifacts. The writers can’t seem to decide if he’s a regular part of “Team Abbie and Ichabod” and his presence in the plot doesn’t always make sense, but he’s starting to develop in ways that could make him a useful component. The addition of Sakina Jaffrey as the new Sheriff has had some promise. Sheriff Reyes has been a wild card for Abbie and her use of police resources in her and Crane’s missions, and has a connection to the Mills sisters that has yet to be fully explored. She’s an intriguing character who needs more screen time.

Noble has mostly been called on to be in “glowering villain” mode. He’s great at that, of course, even if it doesn’t use all his gifts. Noble is enough of a pro to embroider some subtle grace notes into his performance to at least allow for the possibility that Henry’s more conflicted about his course than he often claims to be. The writers keep teasing the possibility that there’s still good in Henry, even as he commits one vile act after another. Viewers have to wonder: at what point does the belief shared by Ichabod and Katrina that all isn’t hopeless where their son is concerned become untenable? Neil Jackson has had an expanded role as the human aspect of the Headless Horseman and has done a more effective job of portraying a potentially conflicted villain in his interactions with Katrina (the only one who can see his human face, because: magic).

But really, the heart of Sleepy Hollow is the bond between Abbie and Ichabod and their roles in opposing the gathering apocalypse. Beharie and Mison have developed really nicely into an effortless team, providing their characters with the kind of rapport necessary to ground the show’s wilder elements. The genuine friendship, shared humor and caring between the duo comes across in the performances without needing significant exposition. The writers have teased a possible romantic spark, which some fans desperately want to see explored, but have wisely left that as a minor potentiality, instead focusing on the “witnesses to the end of the world” relationship that’s the real heart of the show. Beharie may be the most badass action heroine on television right now. Her Abbie regularly tangles with mercenaries twice her size and monsters much bigger than that and yet remains calm under pressure. And has a way with a mean side eye. Mison’s performance is almost endlessly entertaining. His facility with Crane’s arch monologues about the perversities of modernity is amazing, and he’s equally compelling in the darker corners of the narrative. The Sleepy writers have always allowed Crane to be somewhat pompous and prone to anger and Mison captures those qualities in a way that makes them endearing for viewers. Taken together, Beharie and Mison are a nearly flawless partnership and probably remain the best reason to watch Sleepy Hollow.

The past couple of episodes have finally been building some plot momentum and tonight’s focus on Abbie and Jenny’s troubled past promises some real emotional impact. And the writers reliably inject humorous notes that work in context without being a distraction. Sleepy Hollow has all its pieces positioned well. Now it just needs to find ways to make the most effective use of them and push its narrative forward. Given the heights the show so often reached in its first season, there’s every reason to be hopeful about its future.